World Press Freedom Day is usually marked by stories of despair — worsening repression of voices, media outlets closed down, journalists locked up, journalists killed. But this year there have been some glimmers of light, especially in Australia, where the lack of diversity in media ownership has been a longstanding issue.
While many independent media outlets around the world face persecution from authorities, in Australia the small independent publisher Crikey stared down a defamation action from a much larger media group: The Rupert Murdoch-owned News Corp.
Crikey, which says it is guided by a deceptively simple, old idea 'tell the truth and shame the devil' had dared Lachlan Murdoch, son of Rupert, to bring a defamation action against it, after naming the Murdoch family as an unindicted co-conspirator in the January 6 2021 US Capitol riot.
